Sr Engineer, Subsea Engineering

Confidential; Houston (TX); On-site; USD 120,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Confidential is seeking a Senior Engineer to provide technical governance, troubleshooting, and lifecycle support for subsea and well-control equipment on offshore drilling rigs. You will lead technical change packages, support failures, and coordinate with OEMs, vendors, clients, and regulators to ensure safety and compliance.

The role requires strong analytical skills, experience with BOP systems and riser equipment, and the ability to perform under time-critical events, with opportunities to

Qualifications

• 5+ years of relevant offshore engineering experience.
• Strong troubleshooting and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to rapidly learn complex subsea and well-control systems.

Responsibilities

• Prepare, review, and evaluate TMOC packages, changes, deviations, and queries; support risk assessments for modifications and changes.
• Provide engineering support for BOPs, marine risers, and well-control equipment; troubleshoot mechanical, hydraulic, and electrical issues.
• Lead or support RCFA investigations; develop corrective and preventive actions with fleet-wide applicability.
• Participate in FAT, System/Integration Acceptance Testing, commissioning, and post-installation verification; ensure documentation is compliant and traceable.
• Coordinate with OEMs, vendors, regulators, clients, and internal teams; communicate technical recommendations clearly.

Skills

Engineering fundamentals

Troubleshooting

RCFA

Engineering risk assessment

Management of change

Equipment lifecycle management

Maintenance

Controls/automation

Mechanical

Electrical

Hydraulic

Safety-critical systems

Subsea/BOP knowledge

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or Controls Engineering

Masters degree or PE desirable

Job description

We welcome application from recent PhD graduates who are looking a senior-level engineering support and technical assurance for subsea and well-control equipment installed on floating offshore drilling rigs. The position supports worldwide operations, and provides technical expertise for the safe, reliable, and compliant operation of Blowout Preventer (BOP) systems, BOP control systems, marine riser systems, riser tensioning systems, BOP handling and transport equipment, and associated drilling well-control equipment.

The Senior Engineer provides technical support for operational troubleshooting, equipment failures, engineering modifications, maintenance and reliability improvements, equipment upgrades, lifecycle management, and regulatory and classification compliance. The position also supports newbuilds, upgrades, refurbishments, reactivations, and other engineering projects.

The role requires independent engineering judgment, effective coordination with offshore personnel, OEMs, vendors, classification societies, clients, and regulatory stakeholders, and the ability to provide technical leadership during routine operations and time-critical operational or non-productive-time (NPT) events.

Job Description

• Engineering Governance and Technical Assurance: Prepare, review, and technically evaluate Technical Management of Change (TMOC) packages, engineering changes, deviations, and technical queries.Perform or support engineering risk assessments associated with equipment modifications, repairs, temporary configurations, and operational changes.Review technical bulletins, OEM advisories, engineering reports, specifications, procedures, calculations, and supporting technical documentation.Ensure engineering changes adequately address design requirements, testing, maintenance, training, spare parts, documentation, regulatory requirements, and equipment interfaces.Ensure approved modifications are incorporated into applicable drawings, procedures, maintenance programs, software/configuration records, and other controlled documentation.Support technical closeout of engineering changes and verification of completed actions.
• Fleet Technical Support and Troubleshooting: Provide engineering support for BOPs, marine risers, riser tensioning systems, BOP handling/transport equipment, and associated well-control equipment.Support troubleshooting of mechanical, hydraulic system issues.Provide technical support during equipment failures, operational downtime, and NPT events.Review equipment drawings, hydraulic and electrical schematics, alarm and event logs, function-logger data, test records, maintenance history, and OEM documentation to support troubleshooting and technical decisions.Develop technically sound recommendations for equipment recovery, repair, continued operation, or escalation.Provide offshore, shipyard, or vendor-site engineering support when required.
• Reliability, Maintenance, and Equipment Lifecycle: Support development and continuous improvement of preventive, predictive, and condition-based maintenance strategies for subsea and well-control equipment.Lead or support equipment failure investigations and Root Cause Failure Analysis (RCFA).Develop corrective and preventive actions and evaluate whether identified issues have fleet-wide applicability.Analyze equipment failures, recurring defects, maintenance history, alarms, event logs, and operating data to identify reliability improvement opportunities.Support equipment inspection, certification, recertification, repair, preservation, and life-extension activities.
• Engineering Projects, Upgrades, and Modifications: Develop and review engineering scopes of work, technical specifications, layouts, work packs, procurement requirements, and technical bid evaluations.Support newbuild, conversion, refurbishment, reactivation, repair, and equipment-upgrade projects.Participate in engineering design reviews, technical risk reviews, Factory Acceptance Testing (FAT), System/Integration Acceptance Testing, commissioning, and post-installation verification.Review OEM and vendor engineering deliverables for compliance with functional, reliability, maintainability, operability, and interface requirements.Support project planning, technical decisions, schedules, cost estimates, and execution activities as required.
• OEM, Vendor, Regulatory, and Classification Interface: Serve as a technical interface with equipment OEMs, service providers, classification societies, clients, and internal operational organizations.Review and disposition OEM technical bulletins, service advisories, alerts, product changes, and recommended maintenance actions.Coordinate OEM engineering support for equipment failures, design changes, qualification testing, and corrective actions.Support technical documentation and evidence required for regulatory, classification, client, and internal compliance activities.Maintain working knowledge of applicable industry standards, regulatory requirements, and emerging technical requirements affecting drilling subsea and well-control equipment.
• Technical Documentation and Knowledge Management: Prepare clear, accurate, and technically defensible engineering reports, specifications, procedures, calculations, and technical recommendations.Ensure engineering decisions and technical changes are appropriately documented and traceable.Capture and communicate lessons learned, reliability improvements, and fleet-wide technical actions.Provide technical guidance, coaching, and knowledge transfer to engineers, offshore subsea personnel, and project teams.Support development and continuous improvement of company engineering standards, procedures, and technical practices.

Education:

• Minimum Required: Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Controls Engineering, or another relevant engineering discipline from an accredited institution.
• Preferred Level: Masters Degree or PE is desirable.

Experience:

• Minimum Required: Minimum 5+ years of relevant engineering experience in a technical environment involving complex equipment, systems, operations, projects, maintenance, reliability, or asset integrity.Experience may be gained in mechanical, electrical, controls/automation, hydraulic, reliability, industrial, manufacturing, aerospace, defense, energy, or other engineering disciplines where structured problem-solving, technical judgment, risk management, and equipment or system reliability are important. Candidates from other engineering disciplines will be considered where they can demonstrate strong transferable technical capability, including troubleshooting, systems thinking, failure investigation, data analysis, engineering risk assessment, reliability improvement, and the ability to rapidly learn and apply knowledge to complex safety-critical equipment and operations. Exceptionally qualified engineering graduates, including candidates with advanced technical degrees such as a PhD, may also be considered with less than five years of industry experience where they can demonstrate strong technical aptitude, relevant research, project or practical engineering experience, advanced analytical and problem-solving capability, and the potential to rapidly develop the specialized knowledge required for the role.
• Preferred Level: 10 years of directly relevant experience supporting offshore drilling, drilling subsea equipment, well-control equipment, control systems, or comparable safety-critical offshore equipment.

Skills:

• Minimum Required:The successful candidate should demonstrate strong engineering fundamentals, technical aptitude, and the ability to apply transferable knowledge to complex, safety-critical equipment and systems. Candidates should possess strong structured troubleshooting, analytical, and problem-solving capabilities; systems-level thinking; sound engineering judgment; and the ability to evaluate technical risks, equipment performance, operating data, test results, and failure information. Experience or demonstrated capability in reliability, failure investigation/RCFA, engineering risk assessment, management of change, equipment lifecycle management, maintenance, controls, automation, mechanical, electrical, hydraulic, or other relevant engineering disciplines is valued. Direct subsea or BOP expertise is advantageous but not required, provided the candidate demonstrates the technical capability, curiosity, adaptability, and ability to rapidly learn complex subsea and well-control systems. Strong technical communication and documentation skills, the ability to work across engineering disciplines, and the ability to develop sound engineering recommendations in a demanding operational environment are essential.
• Preferred Level: The successful candidate should demonstrate:Strong technical knowledge of subsea BOP and drilling well-control equipment.Strong understanding of BOP control systems, including hydraulic, electrohydraulic, and multiplexed control architectures.Working knowledge of marine drilling risers, riser tensioning systems, and associated handling equipment. Strong troubleshooting and structured problem-solving capability.Experience with engineering risk assessment and management-of-change processes.Knowledge of equipment reliability, maintainability, inspection, certification, and lifecycle-management principles.Ability to perform or support equipment failure investigations and RCFA.Ability to analyze equipment operating data, alarms, event logs, function-logger information, test results, and maintenance history.Strong technical writing and documentation skills.Ability to independently manage multiple technical priorities and make sound engineering recommendations during time-critical operational events.